1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a write-once optical disc, and a method and apparatus for recording management information on the write-once optical disc.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an optical recording medium, optical discs on which high-capacity data can be recorded are widely being used. Among them, a new high-density optical disc, for example, a Blu-ray disc, has been recently developed for recording and storing high-definition video data and high-quality audio data for a long term period.
The Blu-ray disc is the next generation HD-DVD technology and the next generation optical recording solution, and has an excellent capability to s02FDIS045US01 tore data more than an existing DVD. Recently, a technical specification of international standard for HD-DVD has been established.
The Blu-ray disc, one of the international standards for HD-DVD, uses a 405 nm blue laser, which is much denser than a 650 nm red laser used in the existing DVDs. In addition, compared to the existing DVDs, a larger quantity of data can be stored in the Blu-ray disc having a thickness of 1.2 mm and a diameter of 12 cm. Generally, the Blu-ray disc has an optical transmission layer with the thickness of 0.1 mm.
Recently, a standard relating to the Blu-ray disc is being developed. Following a rewritable Blu-ray disc (BD-RE), various standards for a write-once Blu-ray disc (BD-WO) are being prepared. Specifically, among the standards for the BD-WO, a method for recording management information has been discussed. This method involves a process of recording information indicating the used status of the write-once optical disc.
The information indicating the used status of the disc is information indicating a recorded status of the disc in order to allow a host or a user to easily find a recordable area on the write-once optical disc. In the existing write-once optical disc, this information is called differently. For example, in the case of CD series, the recorded status indicating information is called track information. In the case of DVD series, the recorded status indicating information is called an RZone, a fragment or a recording range.
FIG. 1 shows the structure of a DVD-R according to a related art. As shown in FIG. 1, the management information of the disc is recorded in a recording management data (RMD) area. The information indicating the used status of the disc is managed using RMD Fields 4 to 12 of the recording management area (RMA). There are an open RZone, an invisible RZone and a close RZone.
If the host or the like requests a recordable location to additionally record data on the DVD-R, the driver checks the recorded status indicating information (RZone information) recorded in the above-described manner and checks last recorded addresses LRAs of first and second open RZones and transmits generally the location “LRA+1” as the recordable location to the host. The recordable location is called a “next writable address” (NWA). Due to the transmitted NWA information, the host or the like is allowed to validly perform the additional recording on the disc.
However, since the existing DVD-R and other disc types are different from a write-once Blu-ray disc (BD-WO) in their physical structure and use environment, the conventional method of providing the management information cannot be applied to the BD-WO. In case of the BD-WO, a driver manages disc defects, but the BD-WO is required to have a special additional area for the driver to manage the defects. The BD-WO, thus, has a complex disc structure and as a result, the method of managing the recorded status indicating information of the DVD-R cannot be used for the BD-WO.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of efficiently recording management information corresponding to the used status of a high density write-once optical disc such as a BD-WO, so that the disc can be accessed easily and used more effectively. And such management information should be structured to ensure compatibility with the overall structure, use and standards of the BD-WO. In addition, there is a demand for a method of recording management information on a disc, which can be applied to other write-once high-density optical discs performing defect management, as well as to the above Blu-ray discs.